About Our Cast & Crew

for Frances the Fish

Anike Tourse

Writer, Producer, Actor (Frances)

Anike has written for daytime serial One Life to Live, for the sitcom series Girlfriends and is the playwright of stage play MILK which premiered at the 2015 Fermentation Fest in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. She has produced multilingual videos and public service announcements for the American Immigrant Rights Movement and has written feature screenplay Valentina; the story of a Mexican-American girl who fights to keep her family united and in the U.S. just as she breaks through as a dawning Hollywood star. Anike has penned and performed several solo shows, touring her productions across the country and throughout the globe, including to the Edinburgh (Scotland) Fringe Festival; the largest international theater festival in the world, and on a national Nigerian tour sponsored by the 7-UP Bottling Company. Anike is currently developing a new solo piece as the key note event for the 2016 Bates College New Student Orientation in Lewiston, Maine this fall. Website

Floyd Norman

Story Consultant

Multi-award winner Disney Legend Floyd Norman is an animator, writer and comic book artist. Floyd is credited as the first African-American animator at Walt Disney, is the founder of Vignette Films with business partner/director Leo and he has worked for several other animation companies, among them Pixar, Hana-Barbera Productions, Ruby-Spears and Film Roman. Norman has worked on such blockbusters as the Jungle Book, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, Mulan, Monsters Inc., and the Toy Story franchise to name a few. Norman has also published several books of cartoons inspired by his lifetime of experiences in the animation industry including, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side to the Art of Animation. Norman currently stars in a documentary film about his life’s work entitled An Animated Life which opened for theatrical release in September 2016. IMBD Profile

Jonathan Skurnik

Director

Jonathan Skurnik produces and directs award–winning documentaries for broadcast and writes and directs narrative films. Jonathan’s documentaries tell the stories of people and communities struggling to overcome oppression to reach their highest potentials, while his narrative work focuses on quirky stories that emerge from his experiences growing up Jewish in America. In addition to his film work, Jonathan founded three foundation-funded grassroots outreach and engagement projects that provide transformational educational experiences through facilitated screenings of his documentaries and immersive digital resources on the web. Jonathan is an adjunct professor of film and creates video and sculptural installations. IMBD Profile

Andrew Spencer Dawson

Sound Designer

Over the past twenty five years, Andrew Dawson has built one of the more unique careers in Los Angeles as a sound designer, ADR supervisor, demo producer and private audio consultant. His sound work is heard on hundreds of television and film projects, including his Emmy Award win for Best Sound on “American Horror Story: Asylum”. Most recently, he was nominated for a 2016 Emmy for Sound for the acclaimed History Channel remake of Alex Haley’s “Roots”. Andrew also just completed the sound work on the comedy series “Angie Tribeca” on TBS. IMBD Profile

Keston John

Actor (Ollie Octopus)

Keston John trained at the University Of Central Florida Conservatory Theatre, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Acting. Keston played a recurring role in series Blood & Oil and recently acted in Martin Scorcese’s HBO Untitled Rock n’Roll Project. Keston has also appeared in numerous acclaimed television shows including Southland on TNT and the FOX shows Lie to Me and 24. IMBD Profile

Aaron Anastasi

Actor (Oskar the Shoal Leader)

Actor, Writer and producer Aaron Anastasi is a Southern California native who created and hosts the internationally recognized, Superior Singing Method the #1 singing/life lesson channel on YouTube with over 10.5 million organic views and over 125 thousand subscribers. Aaron is known for web series Adam & Jamero and Crazy Love and short films Vigilance and The Waiting Room. Aaron is also a prominent success coach for clients in industry-leading roles, ranging from film directors to marine biologists to TEDx speakers. His new book, The Voice of Your Dreams, was released in April 2016, and reached Amazon’s top 100 best sellers within the first week of release. Instagram: @aaronanastasiIMDB Profile – Website – Facebook – YouTube

Y'Dhanna Daniels

Actor (Halle Halibut)

Houston native Y’Dhanna Daniels is an actress, voice over artist and comedienne residing in Los Angeles. Her commercial spots include Applebee’s, Time Warner, Avalon Homes, and Reliant Energy. Daniels has performed industrial films and voice over work for brands such as Exxon Mobile, DuPont, Lexus and Church’s Chicken in addition to having a collection of short films, television, and feature film credits. Her stage credits include The Colored Museum, A Raisin in the Sun, Long Time Since Yesterday, It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play and Since ’76 . Also noted, Daniels is a military veteran and through The Geffen Playhouse’s Veterans Writing & Performance Workshop she most recently performed her own work at The Geffen’s Gil Cates Theater within the presentation entitled “Among Us: Everyday Heroes”. IMBD Profile

Emily Greco

Actor (Chummy)

Emily Greco earned a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado State University and participated as a National Finalist of the Irene Ryan Scholarship through the American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. Emily’s favorite roles include Peter (Peter Pan), Viola (Twelfth Night), Truffledino (A Servant of Two Masters), Amelia Earhart (Amelia Lives), Suzy (Wait Until Dark), and Anne (The Diary of Anne Frank). Emily was the 2012 Best Actress winner of the International Model and Talent Association.

Nikki Neuberger

Young Frances

Nikki’s credits include Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray; Donkey and Dragon in Shrek, The Musical; Vanessa, In The Heights; Little Red, Into the Woods. She plans to study musical theater in college. In her free time, she enjoys playing guitar and ukulele. She lives and goes to school in Baltimore, Maryland.

Brooke Neuberger

Salmon shoal member

Brooke’s credits includeEnsemble, The Lion King, Jr.; Ensemble, Peter Pan; Ensemble, Shrek, The Musical and In The Heights at The Young Actors Theater, Baltimore. Brooke also sang at Carnegie Hall in New York City in a youth choir conducted by Tom Shelton. In her free time, Brooke enjoys playing piano. She lives and goes to school in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dana Maman/Professora MinhaVleha

Musician and Composer

Israeli native and singer, percussionist, and violinist Dana Maman/Professora MinhaVleha leads the South Bay branch of Capoeira Batique under the guidance of Maestre Amen Santo in Hawthorne, Calfiornia. Maman is a band member of the Samba Society and Two Strangers on a Stage and has performed with such musical artists as Janelle Monae, Van Halen, and Ozomatli. Dana has a CD collection Capoeira Songs Volume 1 with Professor Muito Tempo and performs in the dance group Bale Folcorico de Brazil that tours around the world. Website.YouTube.

Pamyua

Musicians and Composers

The musical group Pamyua is self-described as “tribal funk” and “world music”. Most of their songs are based on traditional Yupik, Inuit and Greenlandic chants, but the group is well known for reinterpreting them in modern styles. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Pamyua has toured across the United States and the world, performing at many world music festivals. In 2003, Pamyua won the Native American Music Award (Nammy) for Record of the Year for their album Caught in the Act and has provided the background music for the documentary television series Flying Wild Alaska featured on the Discovery Channel from 2011 and 2012. Website.

Mikaili Armstrong

Production Intern

Mikaili Armstrong is a Public Relations and Political Science Major at Georgia State University. Mikaili manages all of the social media for Frances the Fish. She is involved with PRSSA public relations student association and the French club on campus and lives between Atlanta, Georgia and Los Angeles, California.

Matt Bloom

Production Assistant

Matt Bloom, production assistant, is a passionate producer who loves nothing more than telling great stories. For Frances the Fish, he has helped produce our crowdfunding campaign video, manage social media, edit and write content for the film’s website and assist the director on set. In 2016, Matt graduated with a BA in Journalism from Indiana University. He lives in Los Angeles where he also produces and reports for radio, most recently as NPR’s National Desk intern and for the daily news in the award-winning newsroom of 89.3 KPCC.

Quinn Williams

Production Assistant

A recent film studies graduate of the University Colorado, Denver, Production Assistant Quinn Williams is also a writer, director and editor of both documentary and short fiction films. An impassioned filmmaker, Quinn shoots and edits the short videos on our social media and production blog for the “Making of Frances the Fish”

Dimple Dang

Website Designer

Dimple Dang is the president of Digital Media Diva LLC, which helps small to mid-size businesses leverage the power of the internet to grow their revenue. Dimple has over 15 years experience in the online marketing industry. Services include website design, blogging, SEO, PPC, social media and Facebook ads set up. She also coaches entrepreneurs on how to scale their business with webinars, membership sites and podcasts. Dimple is a professional speaker and has presented at City Club LA, Provisors and other groups. She is a contributing editor at Attorney at Law Magazine-Los Angeles Edition for online marketing and social media. Visit her website.